Snow Way Out
by Jangelica
Summary: An alternate ending to the Race To The Edge episode Snow Way Out. Hiccup and Astrid fight and make up.
1. Chapter 1

"Hiccup would you say something please?" Astrid asked him. He stood in front of her yet there was a distance between them that hadn't been there before. Hiccup didn't answer immediately but she didn't miss his hand curling into a fist or the way he was avoiding her eyes.

Toothless put his nose against Hiccup's fist worriedly. "We're supposed to be a team, Astrid."

"I know. I should have told you. I wanted to. I really did," At this he did look at her.

"But you didn't," Astrid flinched. Hiccup didn't seem to notice or care while he turned away from her and disappeared into the night. Toothless gave her a sympathetic look before going after him. The others followed suit, exchanging awkward glances.

"Hey Astrid, if you need a strong shoulder to cry on you can-" But Astrid cut Snotlout off by punching him hard in the stomach. After Snotlout had fled, she stared at the doorway for a long time, resisting the urge to swing her axe at everything in sight.


	2. Chapter 2

_Tap tap tap._ Hiccup woke with a start. Turning his head, he saw that Toothless was already awake, staring at the door with a low growl.

"Easy, bud," His shield stood at the foot of his bed. He stood up and took hold of it, slowly approaching the door. Silently, he listened.

_Tap tap tap._ Taking a deep breath, Hiccup swung his door open and thrust his shield forward. It was hard to miss the enormous figure in front of him. It was also impossible not to recognise him immediately.

"Fishlegs? What in Thor's name are you doing here at this hour?" Hiccup demanded.

"Hiccup! Astrid's gone!" It took a moment for these words to sink in.

"What do you mean gone?"

"Well, I wanted to ask her whether she had seen Meatlug's favourite Lingonberry oil - it makes her skin shine - but when I went to her hut she wasn't there."

"She's probably out flying with Stormfly," Hiccup answered.

"Yeah... See that's the thing, before I went to Astrid, I was with Meatlug in the Hangar and Stormfly was in her pen sleeping."

Hiccup turned away from him and started pacing. She might be in the woods axe-throwing. But what if dragon hunters had managed to sneak on the island and gotten hold of her? Completely forgetting about Fishlegs, he swung his shield onto his back and got on Toothless, who had already moved to his side, and flew off.


	3. Chapter 3

The moon was very bright and there was barely any wind, which was advantageous in his search. Deciding to check the island's coasts for any dragon hunter ships first, he steered Toothless left. Waves crashed against the shores and the Night terrors were stationed on their perches. Nothing seemed out of order.

"Okay bud, let's see if she's in the forest." Toothless knew exactly where Hiccup wanted to go.

The second after they landed, Hiccup knew she wasn't there. There were plenty of fresh cuts in the trees and barrels but they could be from yesterday or the day before. He checked the grass for fresh prints. There were some but not nearly enough for her to have been axe throwing.

"Could you scan the area for me bud?" Toothless obliged and sent out several blasts of sound waves. Hiccup had already suspected that she was not here but Toothless' head shake did nothing to soothe his growing nerves. "Lets go."

They flew around the island until dawn, all the while keeping to a low altitude so Hiccup could scan the grounds and call out her name until his throat was sore. She was nowhere to be found.

Reluctantly, they returned home. Hiccup checked the hangar, where he found Stormfly. She was noticeably disappointed that he wasn't Astrid. His last hope was her hut. Perhaps she had gone for a walk and returned home. He knocked twice and waited. Nothing. Maybe she was sleeping. He knocked again - harder this time. No answer. Hiccup threw open the door and barged inside. Her bed was empty. Blinking, he realised her bed hadn't been slept in at all. Where had she gone?

"Right bud, let's go home and stock-up. Then we'll go and get the gang together so we can cover more ground." Toothless looked at him and gave him a reassuring nudge. "Yeah, we'll find her."


	4. Chapter 4

Hiccup opened his door and leant his shield against the wall. If they used the map of the island they could cross off the areas they had searched. On the way to his desk, Hiccup stopped dead.

There she was - asleep on his desk with her head resting in her arms. A wave of immense relief coursed through him. Looking closer, he noticed there was a leaf stuck in her braid. Despite his exhaustion and his earlier worry, he found himself smiling. Just in time, he saw that Toothless was about to nudge her with his nose and quickly signed to his friend not to. Toothless gave him a look but obeyed.

Hiccup watched him heat up his rock and then curl up on top of it. Without any second thought, he went to her and carefully lifted her up in his arms. She stirred and opened her eyes halfway.

"Hiccup?" she whispered.

"Yeah, it's me," he answered softly.

"I'm really sorry for-" her sentence was cut short by a yawn.

"Shh. Go back to sleep, Astrid," she merely nodded and closed her eyes again.

Hiccup laid her down on his bed. The tricky thing was that she had somehow gotten hold of his hand and he could do very little against her strong grip. Well, that's what he would tell her anyway. The truth was that he could have untangled their hands easily but he really didn't want to. So he climbed into bed next to her. After a few moments of listening to her peaceful breathing, Hiccup closed his eyes and let sleep consume him.


	5. Chapter 5

Astrid woke to Toothless' sniffing. He stood over her with a knowing look on his face. That was the moment she noticed several things at once. She was in Hiccup's hut - or to be more precise - in his bed. Her right hand and his left were tangled together and rested on top of his chest. Her head too lay on his chest and moved with the steady rhythm of his breathing.

A big part of her wanted to get up and flee. However, a larger part of her wanted to stay exactly where she was. Realising she was not going to get up, Toothless retreated to his rock and curled up grumpily, swishing his tail into position to hide his face.

Astrid relaxed and closed her eyes again, trying to commit every touch to memory. She knew the precise moment Hiccup woke up for his breath had hitched. They lay there for a while, unmoving, too afraid to speak. Then Astrid mustered up all of her courage and shifted so she could look at him. They stared.

"Erm ..." Hiccup began with a shy smile.

"Good morning, milady." Astrid blushed and returned the smile.

"I think Toothless wants to go for a flight. He's a little grumpy." Neither had let go of each other's hands yet.

"He can't complain, we've been flying all night. Haven't we bud?" Toothless made a noncommittal noise from behind his tail.

When Astrid looked back at Hiccup, he was still staring at Toothless, avoiding her eyes.

"Hiccup?" she asked him nervously. He sat up then, letting go of her hand.

"Where were you, Astrid? Fishlegs told me you were nowhere to be found and Toothless and I flew around the island all night, but when we returned, I found you asleep on my desk."

"I'm sorry, Hiccup. I needed to blow off some steam so I decided to go axe-throwing but on the way there I realised that what I really needed to do was talk to you. I went to your hut and on the way there I ran into Fishlegs. I think he tried to tell me that you were looking for me but I kind of cut him off and said that I needed to talk to you. You weren't here and Toothless was gone too so I thought you might be out flying or patrolling so I waited for you. I must have fallen asleep."

Hiccup was silent for a while. "Astrid, when I couldn't find you I thought dragon hunters might have gotten hold of you or that you were stuck somewhere or... or worse. Don't ever do that to me again."

"I know. I'm really sorry," Astrid absently thought she had never apologised so many times in such a short period of time. She wasn't used to having done something worth apologising for. "Hiccup, about the Heather ... situation. I hated lying to you. But there are some things you should know." Surprising her, he gently took hold of her hand again.

"Astrid, I've already forgiven you."

She blinked. "But why? Hiccup, I lied to you."

"Well, yes. But by Thor's hammer, how many times have I forgiven the Twins and Snotlout and - and even Fishlegs? The Twins wreak havoc wherever they go and Snotlout makes mistakes all the time. Besides, remember when my brain was under siege and I didn't believe you when you told me that Heather was working with the Outcasts? You forgave me so easily. I trust you, Astrid, and if you thought not telling me would benefit the plan, then I believe you." He finished his speech with a reassuring smile.

Words failing her, Astrid lunged forward and hugged him. He hugged her tightly back. Remembering there was still something he should know, she let go and looked at him seriously. "Hiccup, there is something I still haven't told you. Ryker is not the head of the dragon hunters. The real leader is someone named Viggo Grimborn. Heather hasn't met him yet but she is our best shot at drawing him out."

He rubbed his neck. "It sounds dangerous. It's not too late to pull Heather out." Astrid shook her head and put her other hand on his shoulder. "This is why Heather didn't want me to tell you. We both knew you would try to pull her out of there. Heather wants this, Hiccup. She isn't going anywhere unless she wants to."

After a moment's hesitation, he nodded. "We'll have to tell the gang."

"True. But how about we feed Toothless and Stormfly and go for a flight first?"

Hiccup looked amused. "Don't you mean patrol?"

Astrid shook her head and laughed. "No, l mean flight."

"You hear that bud? Looks like we're going for a flight." Toothless jumped to his feet and walked over to the door, waiting for them.

"You might want Toothless to wear his fastest tail," she said casually.

"Oh I see where this is going. Racing huh? Do you have any chicken for Stormfly?"

"No, I don't. You think Tuff will be okay with me frying his Chicken?"

"I wouldn't. He'll do anything for that Chicken. I don't think I'll be able to protect you from his Loki-inspired revenge."

"Fine," She punched him in the shoulder. "Ow! Wh-why-?"

"That's for putting me in your bed," Hiccup looked down guiltily.

Then she kissed him, not briefly like the ones they had shared so far, but lingering. "And that's for everything else."


End file.
